Greymouth Disinterment

[NZBC]

DISINTERMENT OF CHINAMEN.

Our Greymouth correspondent telegraphs that them is great excitement there over the proposed disinterment of 140 Chinee bodies in the Greymouth cemetery. The proposal is to take them up, and where the flesh considerably decayed, remove the same and send the bones to China The Colonial Secretary, before consulting the local controlling body, granted permission for the bodies, along with other, on the West Coast, to be stored in a building adjoining a public street, and close to number of other residences, where they will remain for months. The Borough Council, which has control of the has firmly protested against the proceeding on the score of health and violence to pußic sentiment. and has instructed the sexton to oppose by force any attempt, at resurecuting until another place of storage is provided. Chinese, armed with the Colonial Secretarys authority, declare their intention to proceed. The Council is determined, at all risks, to resist until better arrangements are made, and have asked Mr Guinness, if need be, to bring the matter before Parliament.
Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 11008, 4 July 1901, Page 4


paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=NEM19010715.2.7&srpos=30&e=-------100--1----0greymouth+disinterment--

BOROUGH OF GREYMOUTH CEMETERY CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that the Greymouth Cemetery will be CLOSED to the Public during the disinterment of the Chinese remains fron daylight to twelve o'clock noon each day commencing on TUESDAY NEXT, 24th instant, and continuing until notice is given that the disinterment has beei effected. By Order, E. I. LORD, Town Clerk. Grey River Argus, Volume LVII, Issue 10520, 3 October 1901, Page 3



DISINTERMENT OF CHINESE.

A GREYMOUTH PROTEST. Pbb Pbkss Association.] GREYMOUTH, Sept. 27. At a meeting of the Borough Council, held last night, the Clerk was instructed to write to the. Government, stating that the Council had protested several times against the ddsinterment of Chhwse, but the. Colonial Secretary had overruled its objection. The Colonial Secretary, in a letter, stated that tlhe bodies would be removed in a month Star , Issue 7518, 27 September 1902, Page 5 paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=TS19020927.2.53&cl=search&srpos=1&e=-------100--1----0greymouth+disinterment--&st=1

[NZBC]

CHINESE DISINTERMENTS AUCKLAND

LOCAL PROCEEDINGS

The exhuming- of the bodies of dead Chinamen from their graves in Waikumete cemetery began at daybreak^his morning-. Nine bodies are to be lifted if they can be discovered, but it is doubtful if they can all be located with certainty, as the cemej tery records appear to contain only four of the nine names. Some graves of unnamed persons will probably be i 1 opened for the purpose of ascertaining if the names of the missing I Chinamen can be discerned on the coffins. There are known to be about twenty-two Chinese buried at Waiku,mete,'but only those are being- disturbed whose relations have arranged for the proceedings. An instance of the difficulties which attend the securing of the right bodies is presented by the case of a Chinaman who was drowned with two other Chinese on the Wairarapa. The names of the men were known at the time, but they could not be individually identified owing to their close resemblance to one another, and they were not separately named when buried. The question of how, to pick out the right man now is one which is likely to puzzle even a Chinaman. The possibilities which the intricacies of the situation open up are too far-reaehjing for speculation. The bodies are !of all ages, the last disinterment movement having- occurred twenty years ago, when i about 200 bodies were taken. The present undertaking involves the removal of about 450 bodies from 30 or i4O cemeteries of the colony. There are 190 coffins stacked ready at Greymouth, 200 near Dunedin, and srterller numbers in some other i places. It is stated that one or two disinterments are to take place from the other cemeteries around Auckland. The expense is defrayed from a fund raised by subscription in the colony, together with a charge on the relatives who receive the remains in China equivalent to 30/. A contri, bution to the disinterment tund entitles each Chinaman to a pass guaranteeing him immunity from the penalty of £20, which he has otherwise to pay for re-admission to

At twelve o'clock to-day only two bellies had been exhumed. The slowness of the proceedings was due to the want of zinc to make the inner coffins.
Auckland Star, Volume XXXIII, Issue 230, 27 September 1902, Page 5 paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=AS19020927.2.24&cl=search&srpos=8&e=-------100--1----0greymouth+disinterment--&st=1



Digging up dead Chinamen.

Auckland, Saturday. The exhuming of the bodies of dead Chinamen from their graves in the Waikumete cemetery, began at daybreak this morning.

The disinterment is under the direction of Mee Chang, a contractor who has carried out the work at other places in the Colony and is working under instructions from a Chinese firm.

The last disinterment movement occurred twenty years ago when about 200 bodies were taken; the present undertaking involves the removal of about 450 bodies from 30 or 40~cemeteries of the Colony. There are 190 coffins stacked ready at Greymouth, 200 near Dunedin and smaller numbers in some other places. The steamer Yentura has been specially chartered for conveying the bodies to Hong Kong. Bay Of Plenty Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4355, 29 September 1902, Page 2 paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=BOPT19020929.2.12.2&cl=search&srpos=2&e=-------100--1----0greymouth+disinterment--&st=1

October 14th. disinterment of the bodies of Waikumete cemetery. eight miles from.the city, yesterday. The coffins are to be taken to Dunedin and subsequently the whole collection; including those at Greymouth will be taken to Wellington and thence shipped to China at the end of bis month. The contractors state that no bodies were to be removed from the Nelson district, residents of which have reason to exclaim for this" relief much thanks" The gruesomes operations here have not aroused any loud protest sucb wh le _2 m V^teJs ments^bonldnotbe allowed B ftom the daily p»pe™ tended tbe resurbnt ihey o not appear to be great ly eoi Hed at w at they saw. Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXVI, 4 October 1902, Page 3

[NZBC]

The Disinterment of Chinese Bodies.

STRONG COMMENTS BY A SOUTHERN i'Ai'Eli. A considerable exodus of Chinese has taken place in tuis colony aunng tne last few years. Most, if not all, the celestial emigrants are returning to the Flowery Land and now that others contemplate removing, the Chines© love of their departed kinsmen is exemplified in a manner, which to Europeans, to say the least (says I'riday's Bruce Herald) is revolting in its ghoulishness. We refer to the wholesale disinterment of Chinese corpses taking place in this Island at the time. From information received, it appears that the bodies of upwards of 400 Chinamen (recently disinterred) are now deposited m depots—chiefly at Greymouth and Dunedin— awaiting transport to their fatherland. On Tuesda- morning a party of ten almondeyed strangers arrived at Milton, and esnquiries as to the purport of their mission elicited the fact that they intended removing all that remained of a deceased countryman, who had been silently reposing in the Fairfax Cemetery for seven long years- Armed -with spades, shovels and grappling iroiv*, the squad, under the supervision of a half-caste Chinaman, proceeded to work. When the long buried coffin was brought to light, the scene which folloewd baffles description. It would take the imaginative pen of a Zola or a Defoe to'fittingly describe in realistic ISanguage the revolting nature of the proceeding to a European. The modus operandi as described to us is- as •follows:—The (Chinese, after immersing their hands in some antiseptic Avash, open the coffin and .commence to remove any particle of flesh still adhering to the skeleton; they then smoke the bones in an ordinary riddle, and afterwards hold the bones in a wire sieve over a 'brightly burning fire to accomplish the final cleansing. The recital of this is sickening enough in cold print, but the reality—faugh! And yet this is the sort of thing that has been going on in Greymouth for months, and is now daily being performed by a paid band ot

Celestials throughout the South Island. No doubt it may be said that the disinterment of Chinamen (who have died in a foreogn country) by their fellows is in accordance with ancient Chinese religion or national obligations, but such a barbaric custom is. hardly justifiable, considering the sanitary aspect of the matter, judged from a European standpoint. Aqcording to accounts which appear most reliable, nearly every Chinaman in New Zealand has contributed something, according to his means, and the work is being carried out by a contractor and nine men. Those who contribute are presented with a ticket with the amount stated thereon, and this is negotiable in some way when the pilgrims return to China. It is estimated that an expenditure of £20,000 ('ncluding the charter of a steamer, etc.)- will have been entailted before the skeletons can be landed in China. Altogether the remains of about 450 Chinamen will be shipped. The contractors have been engaged on their unenviable and repulsive task for about ten months now, and anticipate that their labours will be completed in another two months.

The carriage of the skeletons is also a matter of comment from a sanitary point of view. The bones after removal from the original coffin, are placed in zinc-lined teak boxes. There is nothing suggestive about these, and being varnished, they might pass for ordinaiy travelling trunks. This receptacle of what was once a human being is consigned to the depot by train, and the tools used in disinterment are bundled into the railway track anyhow. The thought of a consignment of potatoes or other artillce of diet coming to you by the same truck next day is not inspiring. Surely this is a matter for the Health Department. In our wires yesterday it was stated that Dr Mason had the matter under consideration. Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXXVII, Issue 11734, 11 September 1902, Page 2

The Chinesfi doctor who forms one of the party now busy exhuming the bodies of their dead brethren for trausuaission to China told a Palmefston Times (South Island) reporter the other day 'that the party receives £9 for every jbody exhumed, and £5 for every skeleton, the remains to be delivered iv Duuedin, Greymouth or Wellington. A steamer will be chartered aud the bodies conveyed to China, the total cost to the Chinese of the Colony beiug estimated at £15,000. Bush Advocate, Volume XIV, Issue 151, 23 September 1902, Page 4

[NZBC]

A CHINESE COURT CASE.

in THE CHONG OHING TONO SOCIETY. DEPUTE OVER FUNDS. A somewhat unusual case was investigated at the Supremo Court yesterday, when Ah Long and others, representing the trustees of a Greymouth Chinese .Society called the "Chong Ching Tong," an organisation whose main object is the raising of funds for the collection and exportation of deceased Chinamen, claimed from Ah Ohong the sum of £349, which it was alleged the latter had wrongfully paid over to the Dunedin Society, instead of to the •Greyniouth Society. Mr A. R. Guinness, of Greymouth, with him Mr Stringer, appeared for the plaintiffs, and Mr J. McGregor, of Dunedin, with him Mr M. Hannan, of Greymouth, appeared for tho defendant. Mr Guinness, in opening, said that in 1878 a society bad been formed in Dunedin called the Chong Ching Tong Society, which had for its object the rawing of fubscriptinns from the Chinese residents in New Zealand for the purpose of disinterring deceased Chinamen and sending tho remains to China. That Society had its head office in Dunedin, and it appointed two collectors to go to tho West Coast for tho purpose of raising eubscriptioos there. Tho objects of the Society were carried out in 1882, and there remained in hand something over £3000, whicli sum had been sent by the managers of the Society at Dunedin to China. The Chinese on tho West Coast who had subscribed to the fund were dissatisfied with that action, ami in 1888 or 1889, they held a largo meeting in Greymouth, and resolved to form a Wo*t Coast Society. The Society was formed, and tho trustees started to collect subscriptions. About two yean afterwards a similar Society was started at Dunedin, and delegates from the West Coast Society attended a meeting held at Dunedin, when it was agreed to enter into one 'joint contract for the disinterment of the bodies through New Zealand. After tiie cost of tho undertaking had been settled there regained a balance of £349 from what had been paid by the West Coast Society, and that balance had been paid by tho defendant, who was ono of the delegate.", to the Dunedin Society. Mr.(McGregor remarked that the defendant claimed that Iho Society was one with branches in different places, the head office being at Dunedin. Mr Guinncfs replied that tho Societies wcro separate and independent, and the Dunedin Society had no right to get hold of tho funds of the Greymouth Society. Evidence was then called. Chow Fong stated that about twentyfour years ago a society called the Chong Ching T6ng was formed in Dunedin. and two representatives went over to the Coast to collect subscriptions. The money was sent to Dunedin, and the bodies were raised and shipped. There was a balance left, of £3000, which was sent to China, where the head branch of tho society existed. About, seven years afterwards a meeting of Chinnmcn was called at Greymouth, and it was resolved to form a society for the West Coast. That society was quite independent of tho Dunedin Society. Joe Waw, boardini»-houso keeper at Greymouth, gave evidence relative to the purposes for which the money had been I subscribed on the Coast. He nlso affirmed that the West Coast, society was entirely indep?ndent of the Dunedin society, anil tho latter society had no right to the balance wrongfully sent them by tho defendant. Evidence was also given by Ah Long, storekeecer. Hawera, -en King, miner, Greymouth. You Bun, miner, Lyell Chow Sing, storekeeper, Christchurch, Ah Gin, Ah Chew, and Leo Far, and tho case for the plaintiff closed. Mr McGregor, in opening for the. defence, said that he would satisfy tho CoiiTt that the Society was one, and Greymouth and Wellington were simply branches, with local trustees appointed by the local subscribers. The meeting that had been held on the Coast was for the purpose of appointing local directors. Tho Society had existed as ono and the same from its first constitution twenty-five years, ago. There had been no breach in its continuity, for it was dormant between the completion of ono disinterment and the beginning of tho second. The roceipt forms used on the Coast came from the Dunedin office,' and Ah Chong throughout had actod as if he wero simply representing the Greymouth branch. Cum Poy Sew Hoy, of Dunedin, merchant, stated that he was the president of the Chong China; Tong Society l of New Zealand. The Society was first formed in 1885, and .his father, Sew, Hoy, was the .first president. There weiro over 1000 members in the Dunedin and Canterbury districts, over 1000 in the Westland dis-. trict, and between 300 and 400 in the Wellington district. The rules produced were those of the Society, and each district appointed its own Board of Trustees. The head office bold the funds until there was sufficient to pay fsr the of disinterment and shipping of the.bodies to China. If one district had not sufficient to pay for the cost of its own disinterments, tho difference was niaiio up by the other districts. Tho first disinterment took place in' 1885, and the second was commenced in 1899. The movement for the second disinterment was commenced in .Greymouth. At this stage the Court was adjourned till ten o'clock this morning. Press, Volume LXI, Issue 12062, 10 December 1904, Page 2 paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=CHP19041210.2.3&cl=search&srpos=5&e=-------100--1----0greymouth+disinterment--&st=1

[NZBC]

THE CHINESE COURT CASE.

JUDGMENT FOR THE DEFENDANT. SUPREME COURT PROCEEDINGS. The ca.«e of Ah Long and others against Ah Chonp_. which was commenced on Friday, was continued at the Supreme Court on Saturday, before Mr Justice Denniston. Mr A. 11. Guinness, with him Mr Stringer, appeared for iho plaintiff, and Mi- McGregor, with him Mr Hannan, appeared for the defendant. Further evidence was given on behalf of the defendant. Kum Pov Sew Hoy, continuing bis evidence, .said" that the permits, for the first and second disinterments were obtained in the same way by the Dunedin Cltong Ching Tong Society. At the meeting held at Dunedin on July 13th, 1900. Ah Clioiij* the defendant and Cum Yin represented the West Coast subscribers. A number of letters which had passed between the Greymouth and tho Dunedin Societies were put in and read. Continuing, tlie- witness said that the Greymouth Mibscriliers appointed the director of the Society in Greymouth. Since the wreck of the Ventnor the Dunedin Society had paid a proportion of the expense of sending some deceased Otago Chinamen to China. He could not say whether or not the Dunedin Society had contributed towards the cost of sending out any bodies from Greymouth. Ah Chong, storekeeper, of Greymouth, gave evidence that lie had been a. Greymouth director of 'the Society, .and had been appointed by (lie Greymouth people about fifteen or sixteen years ago. About Jive years ago be and Kirn Yin went to Dunedin. The Greymouth people wanted to make a *tart with the lifting of tho bodies, but the Dunedin people were not ready. Eventually joint contract was entered into for the raising and shifting of the. bndies The Greymouth work was to be paid out of the Greymouth money, and the balance was to be f«nt back to Dunedin. Tho balance, and all books and papers, were sent td Dunedin. Joo Waw, recalled by Mr GuinDo.<9s, stated that Ah Chong had never shown him any letters ho had written to Dunedin before they were posted. This closed the case. His Honour intimated that he would give judgment at two o'clock. His 'Honour, in giving judgment, said that what was in issue in the case was a. question of fact-, and not of law, and as he had formed a very clear opinion on the subject, be did not. think there was anything to be gained by holding the matter over, especially as the case had been in suspense quite long enough. What was proved was that a certain sum of mnnuy was raided in Grrymoutb for. the purpoM' of what was called tho Chong Clung Society, that was a scciety existing for the purpose of disinterring the bodies of deceased Chinamen, taking them to China, and there, burying them in, he presumed, the orthodox national manner. The nominal issue in the suit, wa.- whether the defendant, who was a. treasurer of the fund, had appropriated-part of the moneys to his own use: the real question, of course, was, what was the organisation under which the moneys were to be expended? The plaintiff's position was that the movement was an isolated, spontaneous, and independent one, with separate funds and organisation; the defendant's view was that, the raising of the money on the Coast was a local proceeding of an existing and continuous institution, formed for ;i national and religious object, and acting periodically as necessity might ari.»c It was evident that, with the exception of certain dubious rides which, to his mind, were as consistent with local administration as with any other view, the whole ca.'-se of the plaintiff depended on oral testimony. The testimony bad to be obtained from foreigners through an interpreter noteswirily by means of leading questions, at a time when tho parties were at iwue, and referring to event* which occurred some, years ago. That was a very awkward prsition. Looking at all the surroundings he. thought that under the circumstance:-* tho Court must fall back upon the proof of what had been done, and what had bfen recorded. Tn the first place, there, was an identity of name, throughout which a? all events suggested general organiction. The defendant appeared to be the. leading official on the Coast, but who it ally the executive was exceedingly hazy. As far back as the begiiiirinir of 1898 the eonespondence showed that the society was it cognised as one entity with a president and headquarters at Dunedin. In 1900 there was a very significant meeting in Dunedin. and everything showed that it was a meeting >>f tho whole s-onVty, and Ah Chong and Kum Yin, who went there to represent the Greymouth hranch, as he. would he inclined to call if. were included as member.--, and no as visitors or delegates. The ajirwment entered into with the contractor for the disinterment wa.« very pignrikant. for the contract waa entered into not with the Dumdin body but with the body that spoke as representing the whole, colony. It was perfectly clear that that was a contract into which the body entered as a whole, and there was a similar contract for the freight. It had been suggested that the correspondence was collusive, but he confessed he could Foe no trace whatever of collusion. Putting on one side tho question of collusion, there was a clear recognition by the active executive officer of the Greymouth branch of the fact that the society was a single entity. He felt quite satisfied that- it never was assumed that the Greymouth branch was an entirely separate body and independent of the "other. Was it probable that a national and religious organisation of that sort would be organised in separate districts? Was it not a more natural and

reasonable thing to assume, from what one knew of Chinese organisa tions, that such a matter would not be conducted locally. Ou the whotV the conclusion he had arrived' at. was that there was only one body. He held that view on the plaintiff's own evidence, and that viewwas, of course, «drengthened by the evt denco for the defence. Judgment would b<i for tho defendant, with costs on the middle scale, £10 10s recond day, and £5 Ss jwcond counsel. Press, Volume LXI, Issue 12063, 12 December 1904, Page 5

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The famous gold rush of the ‘sixties brought hordes of eager men of diverse nationalities, including Italians and Greeks, and numerous Chinese. Many of the last-named are buried in the cemetery. They lie, side by side, in row upon row, at the northern end of the cemetery, in death as in life, part of and yet apart from those surrounding them.

Many an old digger lies here, his name forgotten, perhaps never really known. Many of them, if they found gold, did not keep it. Here, too, is a silent eloquent proof of the loyalty of the old-time digger, but it speaks, now, only to the remaining little band that has known the bewhiskered generation of “old-timers.”

The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 15, Issue 2 (May 1, 1940.)
The Cemetery at Greymouth — Links With The Past

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The Cemetery at Greymouth
Links With The Past

By Catherine Keddell nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Gov15_02Rail-t1-body-d20.html